175 posts
A while back someone asked me for my weight and diet history. I responded with the short version but needed to post the longer version. What diets have I tried and how did they work for me? This post...
Read more →You already know that I am a frequent blood donor. Now I can add hair to my donation list. I used the last 3 years as an opportunity to grow my hair long. Yesterday, I was able to donate 14+ inches...
Read more →Today the HBO documentary 537 Votes will be released and I'm thanked in the credits. The film is about the 2000 Presidential election and what happened in Florida and more specifically in Miami. Even...
Read more →Every 10,000 miles, I take my car over to my neighborhood Jiffy Lube for an oil change. It usually takes 12-14 months to hit that marker. I don't mind going, in fact, I enjoy the fact knowing that...
Read more →In 2015, I began using mobile apps to learn Spanish. I've tried a lot of them. Some are better than others. A few people recently asked for my feedback on the topic, so I am putting this post...
Read more →It is the shopping season, so I thought I would share my two favorite purchases of 2018 with you. #1 ASUS ZenScreen This summer I was getting frustrated with the 13-inch screen size of my laptop as...
Read more →I get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube. I probably could learn how to do it myself, but I'd rather pay them to do it. It is what they do best. Today, I spent a good amount of time in the lobby and got a...
Read more →This is a quick housekeeping post. Blog Issues First, I want to apologize to any of the users that received a CAPTCHA block trying to access this site over the past month. I was unaware it was...
Read more →Two months ago I bought a 13.3-inch ASUS ZenBook laptop. For the most part, I am very pleased with the performance of the laptop, but there a few things I dislike. We got off to a rocky start when I...
Read more →Back in January, I posted Duolingo Fluency Estimates – My Data, in which I shared my fluency estimates charted over time to help other users better understand what a fluency path might look like if...
Read more →I wrote this post last April Fools Day, but never published. I wanted to share this idea far away from April 1st. I recall back in the pre-Internet Days, April Fools Day was more fun. Some teacher...
Read more →In 2010, I posted The Selfish Case For Donating Blood. In that post I mention the health benefits one gets from reducing the iron level in your blood. So beginning in December 2010 - a full year...
Read more →Two people have asked me to update my podcast list. The last edition came out in 2014, so it is long overdue. Before I get to the list, I want to share the best tip I ever received on podcasts:...
Read more →If you use Duolingo you will on occasion get a Fluency Estimate. I've talked with people and read forums online and there is a lot of mystery on how it is calculated. I know of people that got 50% or...
Read more →I promised I would do an update on my post from April 2014 titled I Love My Chromebook. At the time I said: > Penny for penny, the Acer Chromebook C720 is the BEST piece of technology I’ve ever...
Read more →I wanted to give an update on my progress learning Spanish followed by my thoughts on the advice being peddled in the blogosphere on language learning. The last language update I found on this blog...
Read more →It has been almost a year since I stopped blogging. I outlined my reasons in the post Goodbye For Now. I've enjoyed the break and I'm not sure I want to resume blogging on a regular basis, but I did...
Read more →When it comes to healthy food, I pretty much like everything. I'm the opposite of a picky eater. I love eating new and interesting foods. Organ meat, fish eyes, insects - bring it on! When it comes...
Read more →Today I am Waze Royalty! !waze royalty Driving sucks. I know. But if you need to drive, why not get some points and a rank? I explained all this in the post Learning to Hate Driving Less. Waze may...
Read more →I mentioned this briefly in another post, but I thought it was important enough to cover again. The sensitive financial accounts you have often will use security questions to prevent unauthorized...
Read more →I was passing by a television at my gym a few days ago when I saw the Major League Baseball All-Star game was getting ready to start. Whenever I think of the MLB All-Star Game, I immediately think...
Read more →It has been a while since Newsletter #3 - Eliminate. For #4, I wanted to take a break from fitness and nutrition for one issue and focus on a topic that we can all benefit from. With all the data...
Read more →In the post Learning to Hate Driving Less, I raved about the Waze application. By giving me points for driving, assigning me a ranking, and letting me compete with friends, Waze has totally changed...
Read more →Recently Matt Stone posted Does Exercise Work for Weight Loss? which details how his body responded to higher levels of exercise. He mentions two times when he got very lean using high levels of...
Read more →A wonderful reader of this blog pointed out a grammatical mistake that I make numerous times on this site. From the article 25 Editing Tips for Tightening Your Copy: > 16\. Refer to people as “who”...
Read more →Despite all you have heard, it is not hard to cancel Comcast. You just have to know how to do it. Most of the time when we call up to cancel a service, be it Comcast or someone else, we usually have...
Read more →The fever is long gone, no other cold symptoms remain, except this lingering cough and fatigue. I have a few post ideas and I want to get newsletter #3 out, but it has been really hard to focus. I...
Read more →I am not in the mood to blog. I haven't been in a while. I feel like destroying. There is too much noise. There are times when I don't want to add to the discussion. I want to pull away and reassess....
Read more →I haven't blogged since returning from my Seattle trip. The reason is I unpacked and starting playing with my new Kindle Fire 6. Earlier this year I raved about the Chromebook. However, as much as I...
Read more →If you sent me an email with a link to an article or a video with no explanation on why it is relevant to me, I most likely never looked into it. I've discovered that unless someone can explain in a...
Read more →Throughout the years, I have spent way more money on car repairs than I should have. Because of my limited knowledge of how a car works, I surrender my credit card to the mechanic and pay whatever...
Read more →This year I have gone back and rewritten a few of the older brewing tutorials on INeedCoffee. Unlike this site which has built a loyal audience over time, most of the people who access INeedCoffee...
Read more →This past summer I did a post titled 4 Words I Don't Like. Somehow I neglected to add the worst offender and that is the phrase "you should". I have discovered that the absolute worst advice always...
Read more →I am taking off for a week to Seattle and Portland, so I probably won't be posting anything new until mid next week. I'll be at Coffee Fest drinking massive amounts of espresso. Say hi if you see me....
Read more →Yesterday I raved about my latest hobby which the pressure cooker. This morning I decided to attempt a Vietnamese style chicken congee. I love this dish. Chicken, rice, broth, Thai basil, ginger and...
Read more →For as long as I can remember I've owned this file box. I've kept receipts, tax documents, my college transcript, auto records, insurance info, military paperwork, and other important documentation....
Read more →I don't get it. I will never understand why men will step out of their houses wearing a jacket or coat when the temperature is in the mid 60s, when they know it will be sunny and 70 F in an hour or...
Read more →Recently I was asked if there were any words I don't like. Four words came to mind. #1 Google (verb form, to search) You will never hear me say "Google it". Google does not equal search. It is one...
Read more →Lifehacker recently featured my How to Deal With Comcast post. Although they walked away with the best path for getting your issue resolved, which I believe is going to Comcast in person, they failed...
Read more →Last fall I mentioned that I would be forced to move in mid 2014 due to the evictions. Well that time has arrived. The builders will start work on my apartment building on Tuesday. This means it is...
Read more →For a long time, I have been unable to figure out how to remove a podcast from my iPod. I can delete episodes, but not remove the actual podcast. You'd think this would be something you could manage...
Read more →A topic I never blog about is technology. I tend to avoid the latest and greatest gadgets. Let others beta test the first few versions. If the technology is stable and is still interesting beyond the...
Read more →One of the web projects I am involved with is the tribute site to radio legend Neil Rogers. You may not have heard of him because he broadcasted from Miami and was never syndicated. People in the...
Read more →Although I no longer consider myself political, I've always found it interesting to observe the behavior of the candidate or the supporters of an issue that loses post-election. I've seen variations...
Read more →I've mentioned this offline to a few people, but I haven't discussed it here. About three weeks ago I got an official notice from my apartment complex that I and every other tenant was going to be...
Read more →I was recently asked what podcasts I am listening to and I directed them to my 2012 list. Then I noticed that list is outdated already. Here are my top 10 podcasts for 2013. 1. EconTalk (economics)...
Read more →Friday some friends and I were discussing the Myers-Briggs test. When I first took this personality test years ago I was INTJ, but in 2010 my results said I was ENTJ. I was curious to see if the 2010...
Read more →This past weekend in Seattle was the 25th anniversary (Silver Jubilee) of Sub Pop Records. On Thursday, I learned that a few bands were going to play a closed set on the tip of the Space Needle,...
Read more →This is a follow-up post to When the Check Engine Light Comes On. If you haven't read that post, the short version is I learned how to read the engine codes thrown when the Check Engine light comes...
Read more →This post is a departure from my usual topics, but I think what I learned this week will be of value to those with limited knowledge of how a car works. This post could save you a few hundred...
Read more →I've now donated 2 gallons of blood for Washington. I can add the new pin next to my other blood pins !2 gallons down . !Donate Blood --- Comments Txomin April 11 at 2013 at 5:19 AM Kudos. I wish I...
Read more →Yesterday, I solved the mystery of how to deal with Comcast. For those unaware of Comcast, they provide high-speed Internet services. Although there is some competition in Seattle, they are by far...
Read more →Back in April, I built my own standing desk using boxes. It was a cheap hack, but it didn't last long, as the boxes began to warp after a week. Although I am still not convinced that a standing desk...
Read more →Biohacks recently posted Podcasts I listen to. I thought it was a good idea for a post, so I'm going to list my favorites. I dated this post so I can update my list each year. I'm always mixing up...
Read more →I may have gone overboard this week. I also made some sauerkraut, which is still fermenting.  7 quarts + 2 little jars of Kimchi 2.0 --- Comments Becky October 6 at...
Read more →A foodie friend of mine recently asked me a great question. What would you want for your last meal? I've thought about this for a while and I decided that if I died immediately after the meal, I...
Read more →I saved this story for Father's Day even though it happened a few months ago. The only background you need to know is that I don't have any children. One day I was at the Fred Meyers grocery store...
Read more →This post is an update on the September 2011 post Distraction Diet 2, along with some new ideas. Distraction Diets are about reducing the growing number of distractions in an always connected digital...
Read more →Even though I am always checking out cookbooks from the library, the majority of ideas I get for cooking come from doing web searches. I get an idea, do a search and find a recipe. But I rarely just...
Read more →Today I did a task that I've been putting off for years. I cleaned my keyboard. Not the typical surface cleaning, but a proper full cleaning. In the past a keyboard would break long before it...
Read more →Maybe this is a Seattle thing, but everywhere I go I see this obsession with constantly being connected to the Internet. It is getting out of hand. I donate blood every 8 weeks and if you have an...
Read more →Yesterday, I collected my 1 Gallon Donor pin after donating my 8th pint of premium grade B Positive. Now some lucky chap will soon have pig uterus coursing through his veins. Back in my Florida days,...
Read more →During my trip to Ohio, I noticed an interesting pattern regarding my nighttime headaches. When I stayed with my mom, with the exception of the gluten poisoning night, I didn't get headaches. When I...
Read more →On Saturday evening I was walking across a street in Capitol Hill inside the pedestrian walkway. A large white SUV came up from the side street towards me. It appeared the car was slowing as there...
Read more →I can't stop making new vegetable ferments. I've ran out of jars and containers to hold the ferments. At this time, I have over 25 pounds of vegetables fermenting and I'm thinking about going out and...
Read more →On Pike Street between 4th and 5th Avenue, if you look up to the 6th floor of the Filter building you will see a Super Mario display made entirely of Post-It notes. I heard about this in the news...
Read more →Last year I announced that I was going on a Distraction Diet. > For the month of August, I am going to stay off Facebook and Twitter\, as I believe those are the two sites that are doing the most...
Read more →I just finished reading The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley. It is an excellent book on the economics of sex from a genetic point of view. I'm not going to review the...
Read more →Earlier this year, I was able to get a pea-patch at my apartment complex. It is a 4 foot by 4 foot area. I'm sort of flying blind, but Mother Nature is doing her job. Stuff is growing. I ate some of...
Read more →One of the reasons I go to Costco is to stock up on almond butter. Recently, they replaced the MaraNatha Creamy Almond Butter glass jars with plastic jars. I noticed the ounces were the same, so I...
Read more →Yesterday morning a taxi ran into Rachel the bronze pig at Pike Market. From MSNBC's Taxi crashes into Pike Place Market pig statue (link now gone): > A taxi driver hit the gas when he was rear-ended...
Read more →In this post, I am going to explain why I didn't defend myself or respond to my attackers on MetaFilter last Friday. If you don't know what happened, read Tales From the Glitter Gym - The End. There...
Read more →Today MetaFilter linked to my Tales From the Glitter Gym. The comments exploded and they were mostly negative. A few people got the humor, but the majority didn't. It is not often in life that you...
Read more →In the last week I have stumbled upon so many great web sites full of content that I want to read. I have never been under this heavy of an information overload. I've spent so much time trying to...
Read more →I've had this idea for over 15 years, but I've never actually written it down before. We all know the problem with car alarms. Nobody believes them. We find them annoying. They completely fail in...
Read more →I never talk about politics on this blog. I consider myself post-political. One day I'll talk more about that. Not today though. Instead of complaining about the system, I'm here to offer my...
Read more →I love Costco. Unfortunately, so does everyone else. I used to be able to time my visits when it was less crowded. Not anymore. It is always packed. Short of building new stores, here are a few ideas...
Read more →Believe it or not, I haven't been to every coffee shop in Seattle. Nor do I plan to. Why not? Below are the 6 Reasons I Haven't Been To Your Coffee Shop. 1. Coffee Doesn't Get Top Billing - I am...
Read more →If you are wondering how I have been able to read so many books in the past month, it is because I injured myself three weeks ago. Laying on a heating pad recovering is perfect for reading. When...
Read more →After almost six years of listening to satellite radio, I gave it up and returned to regular old terrestrial radio earlier this year. If you want to know the reasons, read Why I Am Not Renewing My...
Read more →I get asked frequently to help others on business projects. In recent years, I have started declining most offers. Although I have not learned the qualities of a good business partner, I have...
Read more →Since moving to Northgate it has been a while since I've done a Seattle urban hike greater than 10 miles. Today I tackled one of my new favorite areas, which is the Seattle side of Lake Washington...
Read more →This past Saturday I finally got around to doing something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I went to a gun range and fired some pistols. Before heading to the range, I spent several hours...
Read more →For the most part I like how the holidays are spread across the calendar, but if I were King for a day, I'd make the following changes. MLK Day I would change Martin Luther King Day to Civil Rights...
Read more →It has been a few years since I last took a Myers-Briggs personality test. On Wednesday, I took the test again and my score changed. I went from being an INTJ to an ENTJ. You were warned. ;)...
Read more →I have been a paid subscriber of XM Radio since June 2004. For the most part I am very satisfied with the technology and programming. However, at the end of this month I will not be renewing. Sirius...
Read more →I love my Seattle neighborhood of Queen Anne, but it is time to move soon. I've been given an opportunity to rent the bottom floor of a brand new house near Northgate. My living expenses will be half...
Read more →If my Seattle peeps need a fun way to spend an afternoon with the family, head out to Redmond and visit the South 47 Farm. They have crops you can pick, animals to pet and a huge corn maze. They...
Read more →I just setup a text message block on my phone. As a cell phone customer, I have two options: 1. Buy an unlimited text plan, for which I'll never use. 2. Pay 20 cents to send and 20 cents to receive...
Read more →I only intended to do a 5 mile hike today, but decided to take a few different turns and I ended up exploring a new section of Seattle. I didn't know there was a beach with a diving board at Madison...
Read more →If you head east of Seattle this time of the year, you will find many places that have a U-Pick-Em blueberry program. They hand you a bucket and you make your way out onto the farm to pick your own...
Read more →With a slower walk and much flatter shoes, I covered 12.7 miles today. Espresso stops included Trabant, Herkimer and Neptune. !urban-hike-aug2009
Read more →A few months ago I realized that Twitter could be The Borg. Star Trek has a long history of creating things before they become reality. Could it be that The Borg which debuted in 1989 predicted...
Read more →I didn't mention this earlier, but I signed up for the 2009 Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon which took place this past Saturday. Surprised? You shouldn't be. I am still in retirement when it comes to...
Read more →If you would have asked me a few years ago who my favorite company was, I wouldn't have hesitated to say XM Radio. Today I filed fraud charges against them. A few months ago I noticed a bad charge on...
Read more →Today's Dilbert reminded me of one of my office stories. !dilbert-electricity One day I was walking back to the break room and I noticed a thick orange extension cord plugged into the wall. Someone...
Read more →When I saw white asparagus at the store, I thought it was the most bizarre thing. The cashier informed me that white asparagus is grown in buried dirt, so it receives no light. No light means it...
Read more →Last night I got the opportunity to watch a local live radio talk show. The show is called TBTL. Other than the show I watched last night, I've only heard two hours. It is different than the guy hot...
Read more →I changed my mind and accepted an offer to extend my lease for 6 months with a 5% reduction in rent. I'm sure I could have found a cheaper place, but my back injury made me reassess the move. For...
Read more →When my building decided to raise my rent 3.5%, I let them know that they were in denial on the current state of the Seattle rental market. This is not 2008. Rents are falling everywhere in Seattle....
Read more →When I lived in San Diego there was one traffic condition I dreaded. It was the first rain during rush hour after a long dry period. The rain would kick up dust and oil on the roads and they would...
Read more →One of my favorite movies growing up wasn't well received. It was Bright Lights Big City. In the movie, Michael J Fox's character descends into the New York City night life and it almost destroys his...
Read more →The sun came out so I did a 12 mile urban hike. This time I decided to head west and cut through Magnolia. !magnolia-hike-1 !magnolia-hike-2 Then I crossed the locks and picked up the hike again....
Read more →I love sushi, but I am not a fan of sushi restaurants. They tend to be expensive and slow. And if they aren't expensive, the word gets out and lines start forming. Sushi Deli in San Diego is...
Read more →This weekend I was taught a drawing trick. Turn the image upside down and then attempt to draw focusing on spacing and not the actual object. From ArtInstructionBlog.com - Learn How To Draw - Top 20...
Read more →Yesterday I walked into my Glitter Gym and was hit with the smell of wet paint. Before I could think about why they wouldn't prop open a door to air out the place, I walked into the free weight room....
Read more →Last June I posted a Moving Scorecard where I tallied up 18 addresses in the last 20 years. Well, it is almost certain that I will be living at yet another address. My lease ends on May 1st and I'm...
Read more →It was one year ago that I did my first urban hike of Seattle. Why not turn Presidents Day into an Annual Urban Hike Seattle day? The weather was sunny and clear. Temperatures were in the low 40s...
Read more →Yesterday the weather was perfect, so I decided to go on a regular hike. Not an urban hike, but return to an actual trail. Seattle has great hiking, just ask anyone that lives here. They can't stop...
Read more →Today was the day of my first (and last?) Polar Bear Plunge. Here were the stats for the 7th Annual Polar Bear Plunge: - water temperature was 44 F - outside temperature was 41 F - wind chill...
Read more →Recently, a friend of mine told me that I must be bored. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea of not going into the office everyday. In the absence of a boss dictating requirements does boredom...
Read more →Hiked another 15.38 miles today. There was a lot more ice on the sidewalks than on Thursday's urban hike. !dec20route
Read more →Thought I'd try my hand at some armchair philosophy today. I am an amateur at this, so be easy on me in the comments. We are constantly being bombarded with information. Information that is useful is...
Read more →For the second time this month, my basketball got stuck behind the rim. The first time it happened I thought it was the freak event of the year. Then it happened again today. Perhaps it has something...
Read more →When I was young I read a profile on Ted Turner. Sure he was a self-made multi-millionaire that founded CNN and owned a baseball team. However, the thing I recall the most about Ted Turner was that...
Read more →After posting my review of the science book Satisfaction, I noticed that I could have written it in pseudocode or C#.  This post had just enough...
Read more →Yesterday I outlined my Quest To Be Decent. Today I tackled four more exercises. 1. EZ Bicep Curl - Since I take a functional approach to weight lifting I rarely do direct arm work, but I knew I'd...
Read more →Back when I had a home gym, I kept records of each workout. After a few injuries and the move, I stopped recording my numbers. Well I've had some good progress this year, so I revisited the article...
Read more →This is a follow-up to my post The Cuban Family from last May. In that post, I was recalling a conversation I had years ago with a wealthy American girl with Cuban roots. She believed that one day...
Read more →Recently I learned that the TV show Fraiser not only took place in Seattle but in my neighborhood of Queen Anne. Based upon the view Fraiser sees it would place his condo just a few blocks from where...
Read more →For those that don't know Joseph Campbell, he was the world's authority on mythology and ancient religion. He wrote the book The Hero With a Thousand Faces and was even an inspiration to George Lucas...
Read more →Here is a mini cooking update. I bought my first REAL kitchen knife. It is a Global). Yeah it was $90, but it is so much better than any other knife I've ever used. !global knife My curries are...
Read more →Here are two photos taken of me last Saturday evening on the Pike Place Market Pig. The pig is in front of the area where the guys throw fish. This was after the market closed, which explains why...
Read more →I love football season. No, I don't actually waste my weekends watching other men exercise while consuming empty carbohydrates in a semi-drunken state. The reason I like football season is because it...
Read more →Last week, I brought the coffee group to a new venue. The turnout was great and everyone seemed to have a great time. Or so it seemed. On Friday, I received the angriest vile email directed at me and...
Read more →On Sunday I talked to several people who were resigned to the fact the summer was now over. The school teachers would be heading back to work this week and the weather had started to cool. On Monday...
Read more →My apartment is technically in the basement, but the side facing the street is almost the first floor. The windows start at about the 4 foot level, so I have a decent view to look out. Seems the...
Read more →Good news. I'm now sleeping a full 7-8 hours each night. A few nights ago I slept in until 7 AM, which worked out to 9 hours and 15 minutes. It has been years since I have slept in that late. 7 AM...
Read more →Ever since I started watching movies as a kid, I would stick with the movie no matter how bad it got. There was something about not quitting. I needed to stick through the movie just to give myself...
Read more →The summer of stir fry continues. This week I did a Thai red shrimp curry, which turned out a notch better than last week's Peanut Tofu with Yo Choy. I named this recipe rainbow after I did all the...
Read more →Just a few hours after posting my review of the great book The Definitive Book of Body Language, I went to a coffee place to pick up some espresso. While waiting for my beans to get packaged, I...
Read more →Went to get my haircut today and the lady that cuts my hair was telling me how she was able to send money to Myanmar because of the big tip from my previous haircut. Before she started telling me...
Read more →How many times have I moved in the last 20 years? Let us count. 1988 - 1994 - The Ohio State era (7) 1994 - 1998 - Tampa Bay era (4) 1998 - 2000 - DC Metro era (2) 2000 - 2007 - San Diego era (3)...
Read more →While at the library I was thumbing through the documentaries and came across one on Ralph Nader. I knew a little bit about the man, but not too much. Considering my interests are more financial and...
Read more →Last Friday I thought about a girl I met almost ten years ago. She was from a wealthy Cuban family from Florida and was attending Harvard Medical School. Although she had never been to Cuba, both her...
Read more →My apartment windows face a meeting place for recovering alcoholics. I've noticed that alcoholics for the most part look just like everyone else. The one thing that most alcoholics have in common is...
Read more →Last night the Eastside Pub Crawlers made it out to the Issaquah Brewhouse. The Issaquah Brewhouse is owned by Rogue. I've been to microbreweries from Maine to Florida to San Diego to Vancouver. This...
Read more →This is a page I created in 2001 about my military service. Yes, it's true. MAS served his country. I signed up while still in high school and entered basic training at the age of 17. I was in the...
Read more →Tuvok from the Star Trek Voyager episode Rise: > It is illogical to dwell on situations beyond your control. It will only serve to heighten your anxiety which, if I may say so, is heightened enough....
Read more →Last April Kelli came down to San Diego and said some nice things about Seattle. Prior to that visit, I had never even thought about Seattle. After a visit and some research, we decided to move to...
Read more →The Drudge Report just linked to a story in my old hometown newspaper stating that 1 in 10 Ohioans now receive food stamps. This reminded me of my one and only food stamp story. While in college I...
Read more →During my six years in the Army National Guard I raced up the ranks from Private (E-1) to Specialist (E-4). Once I achieved the rank of Specialist, which is the pay rank of E-4, I went into chill...
Read more →This story has been moved around my different web sites since 1997. The introduction was written in 2000. Do you have a story that you tell that is so unreal that as the years go by, even you start...
Read more →Now that I've acclimatized to Seattle, I decided to go for my first hike of the year on Sunday. Since all the hikes look the same out here, I went for my nearest favorite: West Tiger (aka Exit 20)....
Read more →Just got word that our old pet cat RainMan died. I think he was either 15 or 16 years old. After a few days of being lethargic, he passed away last night. Rainman was the best pet I've ever had. He...
Read more →Today was Presidents Day, which meant that I was off work and the stock market was closed. The weather forecast for Seattle was 57 degrees and sunny. Perfect conditions for an urban hike. I've urban...
Read more →Dear Arnold, Once again I must remind you that I've moved to Washington. I'm not paying to have Silver Surfer registered another year in the Peoples Republic of California. I've signed two documents...
Read more →I've noticed a disturbing trend recently. People are becoming Recommendation Zombies. In the past it seemed a person would limit their recommendations to products and services they had a first hand...
Read more →About two years after my car chase with Hulk Hogan, Golds Gym opened a new location in South Tampa. As part of the grand opening they had Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage show up to sign...
Read more →I've already told the story how I met President Clinton in 2000 while driving Presidential Motorcade. Well that was actually the second time I shook Clinton's hand. Way back in July 1992 while...
Read more →It must have been July or August of 1994. I had just moved to Tampa Bay from Columbus in June. For a few days I had two friends down from Ohio. Being the host the of a new town, I took them for a...
Read more →If I were a comic book superhero I would have the oddest super power. My presence in public places will often change the music being played to 1970s pop. Doesn't matter where I am. Doesn't matter...
Read more →Seems there are two camps of people out there. Camp one are fans of Seattle and believe that this blog has been too harsh on the area. One person wrote me and stated with the exception of coffee, I...
Read more →Rainman was lost close to the Harris Fire during the fire evacuations on Monday. We just got the good news that when our friend returned to her house, Rainman was there waiting for her. !rainman-pose...
Read more →History is repeating itself. Fires have broken out in North, East, and South county. Below is a map of the fires put on the news this morning.  Just like...
Read more →Just before I left the Peoples Republic of California, I received a notice to renew my license plate tags. Since I was heading to the Evergreen State, I placed that paperwork in the circular file....
Read more →Joining 24 hour Fitness is a lot easier than leaving. When you go to cancel your membership they remind you of two things. 1- You must give them 30 days notice. This means they can squeeze in one...
Read more →As much as the people of Seattle rave about the hiking here, it doesn't even come close to the diversity of trails in the San Diego region. Outside Seattle all the hikes look pretty much the same....
Read more →I was born and raised in Central Ohio. There was never a doubt that I would attend The Ohio State University. I am a Buckeye by birth. One of the great things about Columbus, Ohio is that it doesn't...
Read more →It was June 10th, 1991. The last episode of Twin Peaks final season had just aired. There was nothing left on TV to hold my interest. It was then I gave up television. It wasn't until May 2001 that I...
Read more →Last weekend Kelli came down from Seattle. We went out for dinner and I got to hear great things about The Emerald City. I have to visit this place. If it weren't for the rain, I'd have my bags...
Read more →I grew up listening to pop music from the 1980s. Then around 1995 I found a radio station in Tampa Bay that played nothing but music from the 1970s (107.3 The Coast). At first I only liked the...
Read more →It needs to be said that people on the West Coast are awful when it comes to being on time. Meetings never start on time. Vendors never show up when they are supposed to and people also underestimate...
Read more →On a whim I decided to get my haircut exactly like the guy beside me at the barbershop. He was a Marine officer and had a high and tight. My hair hasn't been that short since Army basic training...
Read more →Here are my thoughts on the ingredients for a good job. 1. Professional Growth - Building a TRANSFERABLE skill set is the most important thing a job can offer. If you aren't growing, someone in...
Read more →I just learned that Tampa talk radio legend Bob Lassiter died last October. When I lived in the Tampa Bay area I listened to his show frequently. Bob was the one of the greatest storytellers in...
Read more →Four years ago I wrote this: > Regular readers already know I drive a car that gets 49 MPG. Last month I went all out to lower my gas and electric consumption. To lower the house gas use, I used 2...
Read more →There is this trend recently where you need to surrender your name in order to buy lunch or a latte. I miss the good ole days when I was just a number. > Number 17 your order is up. I guess people...
Read more →On June 22-23, 2000, I got to drive in a Presidential Motorcade. This is the original story written on June 24, 2000. The phone rang in our apartment one Sunday afternoon. My girlfriend answered. I...
Read more →In the book The 48 Laws of Power, author Robert Greene shares 48 powerful laws of wisdom. Law 2 reads: Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies. In simple terms, this means Never...
Read more →Why must downtown living be so loud? I miss the peace and quiet of the exburb of the San Pasqual Valley. While I've gotten used to the sound of the train and street cleaner, there are some sounds...
Read more →The most overused and inaccurate phrase used today is: I'm so busy. Let me just say: No you're not. We all know someone who is always telling us how busy they are. What they are saying is they have...
Read more →One month ago today I quit my job of over 4 years and embarked on my Summer of George. I consider my first month to be a success, but not a total success. My mistakes were minor, but I figured I...
Read more →Today I gave 2 weeks' notice to my employer. I have been at the same job since January 2002. It's time for a change. I don't have a new job waiting for me. At this time I don't want or need one. This...
Read more →Just after 1 AM early this morning, our cat Kato died. A few months ago, she started losing a lot of weight and showed other signs of health problems. On 1/22/06, our vet Dr. H said she had a...
Read more →